Promise
by Stefan-sama
Summary: Maya, scared that everyone close to her will end up like her sister and mother, makes a promise with Phoenix. A sad little oneshot.


**Seems I've messed up, as the text for this story was replaced by that of my The World Ends with You fic, Present, which was right next to this one- I probably screwed up when editing, as I had to work out more than a couple kinks with that one. Sorry to anyone who read this while in that state, but I've fixed it now. Good thing, as I probably wouldn't have noticed if SPG inc. hadn't pointed it out. In lieu of the original author's notes, I will say that, as I thought before, this story still stinks. Don't read it.**

**April 27, 2019, 2:16 PM**

** Wright & Co. Law Offices**

** Main Office**

It had definitely seemed like a normal day when I woke up that morning. As usual, I had dragged myself from the pull-out couch, both half-dressed and half-asleep, to the bathroom, where Maya had burst through the door, torn my toothbrush out of my mouth (spraying foam all over the furniture in the process) and demanded we catch the earliest screening possible of the Seaborgium Samurai, which was quite predictably far too early for any sane person to attend. Of course, though, Maya was and is anything but sane, and so after allowing me precisely five minutes to change, wash my face, and prepare a Styrofoam cup of instant noodles, she dragged me by the ear out of the door and into the car, where she, naturally, forced me to drive.

Two hours later, bored out of my mind, I slogged back into the office behind an even more hyped-up Maya, who was punching the air wildly and bouncing off the walls. We had burgers for lunch a few minutes later, then played a game of chess, which I, of course, won by a ridiculously large margin. That led to where we were now, lounging about on the couches, simply enjoying each other's company in boredom. Turning her head, which was placed perpendicular to my body on my stomach, to face me, Maya spoke up, trying and failing to hide her hopefully. "Hey, Nick? Since we're not doing anything right now, you want to-"

I raised an eyebrow from under my elbow, a smirk playing at my lips, and cut into her question. "Go out and get some more burgers since I'm still hungry even after eating five out of the six burgers we already had that cost the aforementioned Nick twenty dollars minus tax?' No, Maya, I don't think so."

She sat up turned the other way, frowning, and crossed her arms with a huff, the better to sulk and pout and perhaps sway my mind. Much to my chagrin, I felt a twinge of guilt as she did so, and as I cursed my own stupidity with a self-induced slap to the forehead, I gave in to her request, mumbling in aggravation as I did so. "Ugh… Fine, I'll buy you twice as many burgers for dinner. Just quit it with the moping." She promptly lit up, turning around, and tackled me to the ground. I, however, was too busy both mentally calculating the impact on my wallet and weeping over the projected loss to care about her quick-to-change praise.

Just then, the telephone rang from our left, interrupting Maya's celebrations mid-jump, causing her to crash to the ground. Hoping it to be a client, she recovered instantly and we raced to answer the phone, juggling it about in the air in excitement. I succeeded, wresting it out of the air, and thrust it to my ear. "Wright and Co. Law Offices, where you've always come to the Wright- er, right place!" I announced breathlessly. "This is Defense Attorney Phoenix Wright speaking, how may I help you today?"

There was some scuffling and muted yelling from the other end of the line, as if from a young man and younger girl arguing over who was to speak. It sounded as if the man won, and rightly so, for a man's voice began to speak, as breathless as Maya was, though he was quickly cut off and succeeded by the girl, who squealed quite loudly into the speaker. "Mr. Wright, Mr. Wright! It's fantastic! Listen, listen, we know it's been a while, but you've got to come down to the hospital, and-"

"Uh… I apologize for my frankness, but… Who are you?"

Silence on the other end, then whispering as I took a sip of water to regain my stamina. The girl sounded much like Maya after destroying something of mine that likely was of more value than she had ever earned in her life. "Oops, I guess I sound different over the telephone. My voice has changed, too, hasn't it? It's Regina, from the circus!"

I spit out my water, spraying both the furniture and Maya, who spluttered as she waved her arms about, which she then used to slap me. However, I was too absorbed in my shock to care about the stinging. "Excuse me?" I asked, still dripping water from my mouth, taking a generous lungful of air. "Did I hear that right? By 'Regina,' did you mean Regina Berry, six- er, seventeen years old, animal tamer of the Berry Big Circus?"

There was an annoyed huff. "Of course, who else has that name? Anyway, get Maya and come down to the General Hospital, quick! It's really important you're there!" Despite my emphatic protests of explanation, Regina hung up with a click. I looked at Maya, she looked at me, we shrugged collectively, then threw on our respective coats and rushed outside, loudly hailing the first taxi we saw.

**April 27, 2019, 2:20**

**Yellow Cab No. 42**

**Backseat**

"To the General Hospital, please, and a two dollar tip if you do it quickly!" I told the cabbie, who was a rather portly man with a bushy moustache and a crusty leather jacket. He sized us up as he chewed on his cigar, raising an eyebrow as if contemplating the offer of a measly two dollar tip. I would've offered more, but quite thankfully I remembered my pinky-promise with Maya regarding dinner due to a full-force Edgeworth-style glare from the aforementioned spirit medium to my right. The man nodded, leaning back in his seat as he took the wheel, and accelerated, throwing the two of us backwards and leaving us hypothesizing as to what would greet our arrival. "It's the hospital… I hope no one was hurt…"

Maya gave me a playful swat on the arm. "Nick, you worrywart, Regina wouldn't have sounded so happy if that were the case. I bet she's getting married to Max or something like that. Wouldn't that be nice?" she asked with her arms folded at her chest, a faraway, dreamy look in her eyes.

I smirked, again using another Edgeworth impression, putting my index finer to my temple and tapping lightly. "Try using some logic for once. No one proposes in a hospital. Besides, Regina was sixteen last year. Seventeen is under legal age for marriage."

She puffed her cheeks up angrily, looking backwards out the window. "Hmph. You lawyers and your precautions, and your procedures, and your limitations, and your regulations and all your legalese mumbo-jumbo, it makes no sense at all."

"Mumbo-jumbo and nonsense,' you say? Look who's talking." I shot back, poking her square in the forehead. She, in turn, slapped me in a fashion that must have been copied from Pearl, flattening my face against the opposing window like a pancake. As I slid down from the glass with a long-drawn out screech at a crawling pace, I made a mental note to one day get a more docile assistant.

**April 27, 2019, 2:32**

**Los Angeles General Hospital**

**Front Lobby**

Tossing the cash behind us at the car, we ran through the sliding double-doors and into the pristine, bleach-smelling lobby. The front desk being ahead past the sea of chairs, we wove through them quickly and inquired as to where-

We stopped mid-step, looking at each other with the same unspoken question reflecting in our eyes. We, of course, had no idea who to ask for, only Regina, and she certainly didn't sound like she was the one who was hospitalized. Thankfully, said hyperactive animal trainer came bounding in from the adjacent hallway, grabbing both of our hands forcefully with a squeal. "Maya, Mr. Wright, it's been so long! It's so good to see you!" Maya was about to reply with equal volume, as was I, but she dragged us through the hospital before we could get even a word in edgewise.

Up stairs, down stairs, up stairs, left at an intersection, through a door, a right turn, up yet another flight of stairs- we weaved haphazardly through a veritable labyrinth of plexi-glass and linoleum, barely able to comprehend our surroundings, much less keep up with what Regina was nattering on about. In fact, we were barely able to keep up with her at all, and once or twice a corner of a wall caught on the already fragile bond between our hands, and she would speed on, not aware until at least a minute later that Maya and I were lying on the floor a dozen yards behind, clutching our hands in pain and generally writhing and groaning together.

Finally, much to the relief of all three of us, though to two of us for decidedly different reasons, Regina took one last turn to the right, skidding to a halt and raising smoke straight into my face. I coughed and hacked loudly in protest, but she was far too occupied in bouncing up and down as she waited, or tried to, for someone to open the door at her knocking. It swung open at last, and she hurriedly ushered us inside with additional squealing.

**April 27, 2019, 2:39 PM**

**Los Angeles General Hospital**

**Intensive Care Room No. 12**

The room was simple and white, with a large, single window illuminating a tall curtain that partially obscured a hospital bed. Obstructing that, in turn, was a tall, dark-skinned man, muscular, and staggering up from a wheelchair. "Mr. Wright, Maya," Acro said as he gritted his teeth in his effort to stay up with nearly no support, nodding to both of us accordingly. With a sigh, he collapsed back into the wheelchair, wiping the sweat from his brow and grinned. "The rehab's going well. I should be able to stand on my own with the effort you exert to do so in about two months. I also just finished serving prison time, the Judge pulled a couple of strings to let me go early out of pity." I was about to express my congrats to both points, but once again I was cut off, as Acro suddenly raised his eyebrow with a slight intake of breath, as if remembering the point for our even visiting. He quickly wheeled around and pulled back the veil with a proud smile. "Mr. Wright, Maya, I am pleased to introduce you to my little brother, Sean Dingling."

Groggily, a young man dressed much like his older brother sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around. "More visitors…? Can't I just sleep some more…?" He had an innocent face, appearing younger than he most certainly was, if Acro was to be believed regarding their age difference. A plastic mask, appearing to supply oxygen, sat on the bed next to him, as if it had just come or fallen off. That connected to a metal box to the side of his bed, its screen showing the unmistakable green light of a heartbeat. The line, being disconnected, had stopped its measuring, but it clearly showed the steady breath of a perfectly healthy human being.

Regina nearly leapt forward from behind him and wrapped her arms around the young trapeze artist, much to his and his brother's protesting. "Definitely not! I've waited over a year for you to wake up, and I'm not letting you alone, or even out of my sight ever again!" I was beginning to remember the feelings involved with the makeshift family that I had forgotten, and their childish arguing and innocent talking, despite my New Year's resolution not to cry for fear of Maya taunting me, brought a tear to my eye. Acro noticed it, and he smiled to himself as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, the better to watch the two. On the other hand, Maya had a funny look on her face, one that I couldn't read. It was as if she was in deep contemplation about something or other, which was obviously quite uncharacteristic of her. But, on the other hand, her talking with Acro seemed natural enough, so I paid it no mind.

"Regina, get off of Bat. He just recovered from a coma," Acro said over his shoulder with a smile as he turned to us. "Thank you again, Mr. Wright, Maya. If it weren't for you two, the hope you gave us, my brother would never have woken up. You have my sincerest thanks," he said, tilting his head downwards slightly. I blushed, scratching my head and letting out a nervous chuckle, while Maya took the praise much more easily, grinning broadly with a sweeping flourish of a bow.

"Never mind that, it was nothing," I replied, trying to lighten the mood to match that of the two on sitting behind us on the bed. "How is everyone else at the circus doing?" The question was half random, half genuine.

Acro raised an eyebrow as he took in the question. He paused, blinked, then burst out into wild, uncontrollable laughter, slapping his knee. "Oh, you wouldn't believe it. The other day, Moe actually got a crowd laughing. He tried to maintain his composure, but as soon as the show was over he burst backstage crying tears of sheer joy." Maya gasped, ecstatic for her pun buddy's long worked-for achievement. "And Ben and Trilo, the ventriloquist duo? Ben began writing the lyrics to their songs, and Trilo learned to move his legs. They're a household name now." I raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond. "And as you may have guessed, Max is still the main draw out of all of us. His skill's gotten better, but I can't say the same about his ego." We nodded sagely, knowingly at this.

**April 27, 2019, 4:15 PM**

**Los Angeles General Hospital**

**Intensive Care Room No. 12**

We bit our lips quietly, all nervous, as the physician flipped through his notes with a wrinkle of his graying moustache. "Alright," he said with a gruff grunt. "We're going to keep you here for another week or so, Mr. Dingling. But as it is, we've confirmed that you are now in perfectly normal condition." Everyone issued a sigh of glad, glad relief. "But on that note, visiting hours are over. Please, everyone," he gestured, raising his hand to the doorway. Likewise, we raised our eyebrows at each other. Regina winked, then sidled up to the doctor's side, stroking his arm and staring into his eyes.

"Please, doctor, let us stay for just a little while longer. We won't make a disturbance, I promise!" she pleaded, applying her uncanny powers of persuasion at both full force and point blank: a deadly combination if I ever saw one. The man was visibly beginning to weaken in his resolution, though he managed to turn the other way, even as he blushed. He opened his mouth, as if to say 'sorry, hospital rules' or something along those lines, but Regina also turned away, quickly licking her thumb and applying moisture to her eyes with a couple of masterfully executed dabs. "Oh, doctor! He's been dead to us for over a year now! Now that we're reunited, I just can't- I can't- Waaaaaahh!" she sobbed, falling to the ground on her knees and rubbing at her crocodile tears.

Taken aback, the man grumbled, holding his head in his hands, and left with a few rather loud stomps. The moment he was out of earshot, however, Regina began bouncing up and down ecstatically as she grasped Bat's hands and dragged him up with her. "Isn't this great, Bat? We're finally together again!" He, on the other hand, was unable to care about their reunion due to the effort needed to stay balanced while holding hands with a jumping Regina. Indeed, it looked as if his cheeks were showing slight tinges of green.

**April 27, 2019, 5:28 PM**

**Los Angeles General Hospital**

**Hospital Rooftop**

Far overhead, or in our case, being on the roof, just above us, the blood-red sunset cast shadows on the front of the hospital sign, shadows of our legs dangling uselessly below as we leaned on the guardrails, watching countless cars speed past on the filthy streets below. Maya, bored, as she always was when nothing involving either food or stereotypical Chinese-styled martial arts was involved with her current situation, even kicked her legs halfheartedly, hitting mine on accident (then again, with Maya, you never knew whether it was on purpose). I winced, of course, but for some reason it felt empty. As if she lacked the energy she usually had, boredom aside.

I was about to ask if she wasn't feeling alright, remembering her expression from earlier, but she answered that well enough on her own, albeit silently, as she flopped backwards, arms spread like an eagle, and let out one gigantic sigh. "Ugh…" she groaned, flopping her arm over her eyes as if shielding them from the light. That was definitely uncharacteristic, as I hadn't refused her anything today, excepting the popcorn at the concession stand.

"Maya," I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You've been acting awfully strange today. Is something wrong?"

She puffed her cheeks up and subsequently blew a raspberry, throwing up her arms in exasperation. "It's all the same, everywhere I look. You may not have seen them for over a year, but Regina and I have been sending the occasional letter back and forth. She was completely devastated because of Bat's coma after we defended Max. Sis left me. Edgeworth's dad left him. That Ema person's sister left her. Dustin left Maggey. Pearly's mom left her. Mr. Berry left everyone at the circus. Celeste left Adrian. Dahlia left you and even Iris. Even mom left without saying goodbye. Why does everybody have to leave all of a sudden like that?"

I blinked, never having really thought about it that way. "Well… You have a point, that is really sad," I said, recalling how I felt when Edgeworth had disappeared after leaving only the note. "I'm sorry about Mia and your mother."

Raising her sleeve, she wiped another wave of tears from her eyes. "I can talk to them for a bit if Pearly or another medium is around, so it's not too bad for me. Everyone else, though, all they can do is just cry and hope their loved ones come back…" I put my arm around her shoulder sympathetically as she curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I'm scared, Nick," she wailed, "scared that everyone else will leave me, just like Mom and Sis…" She finally collapsed, burying her face in my chest as she tried and failed to sustain herself by clutching my sleeves. "Please, Nick… I've already been separated from you enough. Don't ever leave me…"

Putting on my best smile, which was something I rarely did, I patted her on the back and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry. I'd sooner give up my attorney's badge than leave you. We'll be together even longer than Manfred von Karma's winning streak, I promise you."

She looked up questioningly, wiping a tear from her eye. "…Pinky promise?" she asked, almost as if hesitating.

"Pinky promise."

We smiled at each other. She put her head on my shoulder with a yawn, and we let our legs hang down from the rooftop and swing again, watching the setting sun paint the sky's canvas red together.

**May 13, 2019**

**Wright & Co. Talent Agency**

**Director's Bedroom**

I flicked off the light, trying my best to smile as I waved good-night to Trucy. "Good night, Daddy!" she chirped back as she rolled over on the bed. The door swung shut behind me as I walked aimlessly down the hallway to my study. The room was half-lit, illuminated barely by a single desk lamp. It was better this way, it gave me the illusion that no one could see me like this. I sat down, propped my elbows on the table, ran my fingers through my hair in exhaust, and buried my face in my hands, thinking of Maya.

_Just one promise… I can't even keep one single, tiny, little promise…_

I wept bitterly.


End file.
